New Mazda MX5

[ruim20]

^^^ Production problems, concepts aren´t design to be mass buildt..

[McReis]

Why is it that companys never make their production models, like their concepts?

1st possible answer: Because they look like toys?

[UCR]

Why cant they ever build a concept that can atually be built.

Look at Jaguar. Soo many.

[JERNACE]

is it just me or does the interior look like that of a bmw z4

[McReis]

is it just me or does the interior look like that of a bmw z4

No! In fact it is clearly inspired (once again) by the very first MX-5 model.

[Pando]

What car do you and your friends drive presently?

Im taking the subway nowdays , I used to have an old 'piece-o-sht' fiesta, and my friends drive anything from old stuff to normal "family" cars to (one) RS4... but thats not the point, sure the mx5 would have owned my car, but my car didnt pretend to be anything it wasn't, it was crap. Its about the same thing with ricers, we laugh at them too. Im not trying to offend anyone here. Seriously. It just started two summers ago, when there was an early '90(?) mx5 that we saw everyday at work that and it was parked in the wrong place daily, then we started to tell jokes about it aso... The thing with the mx5 is its ridiculous sporty looks to power ratio. If the enzo wasnt a ferrari and had a 1.4l 100bhp engine, would you concider it cool?

[Dino Scuderia]

Why is it that companys never make their production models, like their concepts?

Because Concepts have to be dumbed down for the masses, otherwise their sales would be severely limited.

[UCR]

I know why, i was just saying like you do.

[McReis]

The thing with the mx5 is its ridiculous sporty looks to power ratio. If the enzo wasnt a ferrari and had a 1.4l 100bhp engine, would you concider it cool?

The thing is, sportiness is not necessarily in proportion of the power. You can ask some of the experienced members around UCP (very few I admit) and they will tell you about great cars they tried out with low power but great ratio between weight, power, handling and chassis.
I think MX-5 looks what it is. A small, not pretensious-looking car. Made for people to have fun with low budget.
In fact, many new drivers still think like you. That's why they're moving to hot-hatches, making the value of this cars go down, just because they look girly, tiny and old. I thank them all.
Enzo would be bad with a 1.4 100bhp, because it is big, heavier and it has menacing looks. MX-5 is just a little car, with a nice 116bhp engine that's more than enough for someone who would trouble himself to learn how to drive a RWD. Almost all of them have LSD's (some worst than others) wich make them more serious than probably everything you drove.
Of course i can't be offended because I don't have one. But believe-me when I say you haven't really got the all idea of the MX-5.
It may be even slower than some small city hatches . But unless you try it out, you'll never guess where's all the fun .

Just to end this post, I recall you what the "God of Powerslides" Tiff Needel once wrote:

The baby Mazda roadster is already a synonym for handling excellence, already holder of Autocar's best sub-£15k driver's car title. Its sublime flingability and nifty power-to-weight ratio sustain satisfaction like nothing else. It has delicious steering which combines pinpoint accuracy with perfect weighting. It turns in crisply, grips more than amply and has simply the most adjustable cornering balance. The precise gate and short-throw action of its gearchange are a joy, too. The whole MX-5 vibe is consistently engaging. It's the place input and feedback are perfectly synchronised. And it wins

And this:

And out most gifted testers were always amused by it, even if they'd just been extending themselves in the GT3. So the MX-5 wins, repeating the victory it scored after it was first launched in 1990. Britain's best driver's car under £15K is Britain's best handling car, period


This was when Miata was considered AUTOCAR's best handling car in 2003.
The cars and drivers in this contest were:

- Porsche 911 GT3
- Noble M12
- Caterham R400
- Lamborghini Murcielago
- Subaru Impreza Spec C
- BMW Z4
- Mazda MX-5 (Miata)


Tiff Needell (former F1 driver/broadcaster - ex BBC's Top Gear, Chan 5's 5th gear)
Justin Wilson (current Jaguar F1 driver)
Takuma Sato (current BAR F1 driver)
Michael Bentwood (BMW BTCC driver)
Phil Bennett (Proton BTCC works driver)
Martin Anderson (Lotus Technical Manager of vehicle dynamics)


I made my point.

[Porsche ´77]

The thing with the mx5 is its ridiculous sporty looks to power ratio.

So you think the opel speedster or the elise are ridiculous too for example??
Colin chapman, the founder of lotus said that it´s more important the weight than the power, that´s why he made the seven( the most sportive car of all times IMO).
the mx5 doesn´t need more than 100 bhp to be funnier than other more expensive cars

[Pando]

The thing is, sportiness is not necessarily in proportion of the power. You can ask some of the experienced members around UCP (very few I admit) and they will tell you about great cars they tried out with low power but great ratio between weight, power, handling and chassis.
I think MX-5 looks what it is. A small, not pretensious-looking car. Made for people to have fun with low budget.
In fact, many new drivers still think like you. That's why they're moving to hot-hatches, making the value of this cars go down, just because they look girly, tiny and old. I thank them all.
Enzo would be bad with a 1.4 100bhp, because it is big, heavier and it has menacing looks. MX-5 is just a little car, with a nice 116bhp engine that's more than enough for someone who would trouble himself to learn how to drive a RWD. Almost all of them have LSD's (some worst than others) wich make them more serious than probably everything you drove.
Of course i can't be offended because I don't have one. But believe-me when I say you haven't really got the all idea of the MX-5.
It may be even slower than some small city hatches . But unless you try it out, you'll never guess where's all the fun .

Just to end this post, I recall you what the "God of Powerslides" Tiff Needel once wrote:

The baby Mazda roadster is already a synonym for handling excellence, already holder of Autocar's best sub-£15k driver's car title. Its sublime flingability and nifty power-to-weight ratio sustain satisfaction like nothing else. It has delicious steering which combines pinpoint accuracy with perfect weighting. It turns in crisply, grips more than amply and has simply the most adjustable cornering balance. The precise gate and short-throw action of its gearchange are a joy, too. The whole MX-5 vibe is consistently engaging. It's the place input and feedback are perfectly synchronised. And it wins

And this:

And out most gifted testers were always amused by it, even if they'd just been extending themselves in the GT3. So the MX-5 wins, repeating the victory it scored after it was first launched in 1990. Britain's best driver's car under £15K is Britain's best handling car, period


This was when Miata was considered AUTOCAR's best handling car in 2003.
The cars and drivers in this contest were:

- Porsche 911 GT3
- Noble M12
- Caterham R400
- Lamborghini Murcielago
- Subaru Impreza Spec C
- BMW Z4
- Mazda MX-5 (Miata)


Tiff Needell (former F1 driver/broadcaster - ex BBC's Top Gear, Chan 5's 5th gear)
Justin Wilson (current Jaguar F1 driver)
Takuma Sato (current BAR F1 driver)
Michael Bentwood (BMW BTCC driver)
Phil Bennett (Proton BTCC works driver)
Martin Anderson (Lotus Technical Manager of vehicle dynamics)


I made my point.

I wont argue with that. Although i am surprised they concidered the handling to be better than the M12 or the Caterham. I'm convinced that atleast in higher speeds the MX5 cornering wouldn't be as good as many of the others. I agree that handling is very important. For instance like the Lotus Exige, where the power is only half the story. But since it's really hard to measure, its usually just a + or - and thats why its really hard to compare cars to each other that way...

I still think there's many all'round better cars in the light roadster class, or wherever the mx5 belongs, like the MR2, Audi TT, Z4... also many hatchbacks and even the Mini are cars I think would be generally concidered "better". The mx5 may be a car worth its value, but I dont like it, thats just MY opinion, doesnt make the car any worse.

To end this I may add that you're right, I shouldn't critisize the MX5 since I've never driven it and if I did it might change my opinion. Hope you also understood my stand.

[Pando]

So you think the opel speedster or the elise are ridiculous too for example??
Colin chapman, the founder of lotus said that it´s more important the weight than the power, that´s why he made the seven( the most sportive car of all times IMO).
the mx5 doesn´t need more than 100 bhp to be funnier than other more expensive cars

Not at all, but they "made it". They'd run a track twice as fast as the MX5, so they have something to back up their looks with

I'm a big fan of lotus' also.

[hork]

can people that are taller than 6 feet fi into this one?

[McReis]

I still think there's many all'round better cars in the light roadster class, or wherever the mx5 belongs, like the MR2, Audi TT, Z4...

To end this I may add that you're right, I shouldn't critisize the MX5 since I've never driven it and if I did it might change my opinion. Hope you also understood my stand.

I understood your stand. But I think you should also drive a TT.
For a start, it's a car much more expensive than the MX-5. And it's nothing more than a Golf chassis with a turbo engine made for the A4. Nothing sporty about this car except the "look-at-me-please" looks. The TT was car that Audi had to correct with ugly spoilers and electronic aids to make it driveable, as there were to many accidents with them for the factory to avoid the issue. It's not pure. It's bad car made acceptable by electronics artifacts. A great car for straightlines.

[ZeTurbo]

can people that are taller than 6 feet fi into this one?

the top DOES come down after all